My Sister's Fiancé
by foreversnow
Summary: AU.Arranged marriages aren't always what we expect. Sometimes, they're worse. —SasuSaku
1. marriage

**My Sister's Fiancé  
****by foreversnow**

Chapter  
One

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"_Well, Sasuke-kun, __**my **__Prince Charming would come riding on his white  
__horse to whisk me away to become his princess so I  
__could live in a white castle and—"  
_"…_you want me to wear __**tights**__?"_

**

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**

**scene I.**

"I'm _fine_. It's just a little cut, see?" Sakura pointed at her forehead, trying to calm down the hysterical blonde who stood before her.

"You have to get that checked, Sakura-chan! You're bleeding!"

"But I don't _want _to."

"Sakura-chan, you have to go to the NURSE!"

She sighed. "Look, if I say it's fine, it's fi—Eeeek!" Someone had just picked her up and flung her over their shoulder, starting to walk down the hall. When she realized who it was, she started pounding on his back, trying to get free. "Put me down, you evil…_thing_!"

The only response from him was to prop her up higher, his hand resting higher up on her legs, earning another scream from the now enraged Sakura.

"PUT ME DOWN!" No response. "ARE YOU _IGNORING _ME? UCHIHA SASUKE, LISTEN TO ME, DAMN IT! PUT ME DOWN _NOW_! I HATE YOU! LET GO! PUT. ME. _DOWN!_"

After a few more minutes of cursing, earning weird looks from passing classmates, Sakura was still rambling on. Sasuke smirked. "Such a big mouth for such a little girl."

Sakura stopped yelling after this, her face heating up at his statement. She sighed. Oh well, if he was taking her to the nurse, then she couldn't do anything about it. He just _wouldn't _let go!

She had been staring at the floor, so she didn't notice they were outside school grounds until she heard cars passing by. Looking up, she saw the school, getting smaller and smaller behind them as Sasuke carried her like a dead body over his shoulder. _WHAT IF HE'S SECRETELY PLANNING TO GET RID OF MY BODY? Teehee, Sakura, you're so silly, talking to yourself…_ "Hey, Uchiha, where are we going? You know this counts as ditching in school terms." _Okay, so maybe I'm a little nervous about ditching._

"Ouch, that hurts, you know. 'Uchiha'? You haven't called me that in _years_. Since I met you in first grade." He pretended to look hurt, his free hand clutching his heart.

She frowned angrily. Even if she couldn't see him, she _knew _he had that same smug look on his face he always had when he teased her. "I hate you."

"I've heard that one somewhere before. Oh, right, you were yelling it out to the world a few minutes ago. Thanks, _Saku-chan_. Now everyone knows how much you love me, don't they?" She pounded furiously at his back again, making Sasuke smirk even more. "_Saku-chan_, that's not really nice, is it?"

"Meanie."

"Thanks."

"Hmph."

Silence settled in, and they weren't even halfway to Sasuke's house yet.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun?" she said softly, "If one of Father's men see us, they'll report it to him, and he's not going to be very happy. It's not right for a Uchiha to be carrying his fiancée's sister."

He shrugged, the movement almost sending Sakura to the ground. She clutched onto his shirt tightly. "It's not right to leave my _fiancée's _sister untreated when she's hurt."

She always wondered why he sounded pained when he said that word; but really, who'd be happy if they had to marry someone they didn't love? "It's just a little cut. Besides, my sister won't like it either. She seems to really love you, Sasuke-kun." She was still speaking in a soft voice, her eyes staring out blankly at the streets. She tried to focus on the cars passing by, on the mothers with their small laughing children, but her thoughts were on something else.

"Then it's a one-sided love. Arranged marriages are for business purposes only. Love doesn't matter in these kind of things. The only reason I have to marry your older sister is because Father wants to unite companies, so he and your father will be on good terms."

"But she really wants you to like her, even just—"

"Haven't I told you this before? I _don't_ _**love **_your sister; and that's not going to change. She knows that; I made sure she did."

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, that's really mean. You two will have to live together for the rest of your lives; you'll at least get to like her a _little_. And you'll be seeing each other more, because we're all going on vacation together, remember? You, me, Itachi-kun, and my sister."

"It's not so easy when you love someone else, Sakura."

"Who—?"

"But I won't say anything else; your small brain might fry from all the information I just gave you."

"Wha-? Curse you, Sasuke-kun! You're the one with a small brain! I'm smart, so stop treating me like I'm stupid!"

"When have I _ever _treated you like your ideas were ludicrous, Saku-chan? Oh, excuse me, I bet you don't know what ludicrous _means_, do you, Saku-chan?"

"_Of course _I know what it means! You're calling me stupid again, you meanie! I'm smart enough to understand you're making fun of me again!" She was so caught up in trying to defend her sanity that she never noticed how Sasuke had changed the subject completely.

"Right. You're _very _smart."

"Are you making fun of me _again_? Ugh, you meanie!"

Sasuke opened the door to his family's mansion and stopped when someone called his name.

"Sasuke, sweetie, I need you to get—" She looked over his shoulder at Sakura, then said, "Oh, never mind, you brought her with you!"

He grabbed Sakura and placed her back on the floor, so she could stand up next to his mother, Mikoto. "What do you want to talk to Sakura about?"

Sakura tilted her head sideways, looking questioningly at Mikoto.

"Sakura-san, you father was just here. He was talking to Fugaku about Sasuke's marriage, and he decided it was time to marry off Itachi!"

"Oh, that's nice. What does that have to do with me, though, if you don't mind me asking?"

"They've decided to make you Itachi's fiancée! You'll be part of the Uchiha family soon!"

Her throat clenched, the words she was trying to say lost. After a moment of opening and closing her mouth, she said shakily, "I-I'm marring Itachi-kun?" She forced a smile onto her face. "That's…interesting." Something nagged at her insides, giving her a weird feeling. But she couldn't quite get what it was. _I don't like this feeling…it hurts._

Sasuke could only stare at his mom. It was still settling in; Sakura was marrying Itachi, his older _brother_? Managing to make his voice sound uninterested, he asks, "So when are they getting…_married_?"

"Well, your father wanted it to be soon, so it'll most likely be when Sakura-san graduates from high school!" Clearly, Mikoto was beyond happy, the complete opposite of Sakura and Sasuke. She didn't even notice the change of atmosphere when she'd given them the news.

"B-But that's only a few months away!"

"Itachi's really glad to have _you _as his fiancée, Sakura! Oh, isn't this exciting! Sakura-chan, there's so many things we have to do!"

Another forced smile appeared on Sakura's face. "Yes…wonderful."

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**A/N: **It's really short, but the next chapters will be longer, _promise_.

Feedback is my love. ;)

_**revised 06-20-10**_**. Summer is the best time for everything, huh?**


	2. possessive

_**My Sister's Fiancé  
**__**by foreversnow**_

_Chapter  
__Two_

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"_Ino? Sasuke-kun is acting weird; do you know why?"  
"He missed you when you were in the hospital; he's just trying not to show it."  
"But I only broke my arm; it wasn't like I was dying or anything."  
"Well to him, you were."_

* * *

**scene II.**

A few days passed, Sasuke and Sakura acting as usual around everyone else. News of Sakura becoming Itachi's fiancée spread fast, and she found herself busy answering people's questions regarding her engagement.

Everyone seemed happy for her, except her friends (and Itachi's fan girls). Most of them knew of Sasuke's feelings for their pink-haired friend. It wasn't going to be easy, and they all knew this.

Ino worried over Sakura. What would happen when Sakura found out she would never be able to spend time with Sasuke after she got married? She was too young to fully understand, and that worried Ino the most.

Sasuke was colder to everyone, only allowing a few of his closest friends to even be within ten feet of him. He hated Itachi more than before, if that was even possible. And his father was on his hate list, along with Itachi, the worst place to be in Sasuke's terms.

To the world, Sakura looked and acted as usual, smiling and laughing whenever necessary. But inside, she was hurting. She liked Itachi, sure, but as a brother. Even so, she found herself hating him and his father at times, and it made her hate herself afterwards, for thinking such things. They were like _family_.

_But it won't always be this way…right?_

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**scene III.**

Slamming the front door shut, he cursed under his breath again. Sakura had successfully evaded him since the day they found out she was to marry Itachi, and that pissed him off. Every time he tried to talk to her, she had something to do and couldn't stay, running off before he could even open his mouth to speak. And today, for example, when he tried to pick her up after class only to find out she'd already left with some other guy. Her classmates had said it was a really cool-looking guy with long hair, and Sasuke knew all too well who that was.

_Itachi_.

He heard Itachi's voice coming from the dining room, so he headed in that direction. He was about to start yelling curses at his older brother but stopped when he noticed there was someone sitting next to Itachi. His pink-haired obsession. Sitting next to his older brother, also known as her fiancé. Having dinner. _Laughing_.

When they finally noticed him standing there in the doorway, they stopped talking. Sakura stared intently at her empty plate, while Itachi smiled widely at Sasuke, completely ignoring the ultimate death glare from his younger brother.

"Hey, little brother. You're home early."

_That's because you took the person I hang out with away from me_. "…I didn't have much work to do after school."

"You look a little mad, Sasuke. Is something bothering you?"

_Yes. You're the one who's bothering me_. "No. I'm fine."

Itachi shrugged and looked back at Sakura. "You want to join _us _for dinner? We already finished eating, but we can keep you company, if you'd like."

He was taunting him; there was no doubt in Sasuke's mind. Itachi knew about Sasuke's feelings, and he was trying to taunt Sasuke into doing something stupid. In front of Sakura. Smart plan.

_He wants to take her away from me. That __**bastard**_.

"Alright." His eyes never left Sakura's back, willing her to look at him. If he saw even a _trace _of her uneasiness with Itachi, he'd get her out of there. But she didn't look back at him, and this added to his already over-the-limit hate towards Itachi, because _damn it_, why didn't she see how bad he was hurting?

Sitting down next to Sakura, he sighed inwardly. Sakura wasn't even going to _look _at him? What was up with that? One of the maids brought him a plate of food, and Sasuke started to eat, feeling angry at the world.

If Itachi was taunting him before, he was exceeding the limit on this one. "Sasuke, did Sakura tell you why she's eating dinner at our house?"

Sasuke shook his head. _She hasn't told me __**anything **__since that day._

"She wants us to get to know each other more. You know, since we'll be getting married soon, we thought we might as well do so. And now, I've gotten to know…_way _more than most people know about her." His smirk made Sasuke want to punch him.

Sakura blushed. "Itachi-kun! Don't say it with that expression! It sounded so…_wrong_."

_He's going too far._

Itachi chuckled. "Sorry, I just couldn't help it; you look so cute when you blush."

_Got to hell, Itachi._

This set a deeper shade of red on her face.

Sasuke dropped his fork on his plate, the noise startling Sakura. Itachi only smirked, knowing he'd won in pissing off Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, where are you going? Aren't you going to finish eating?" Sakura called after him when she saw him walking out the door.

He stopped, but didn't look back, saying, "I'm not hungry," before walking away.

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**scene IV.**

"Sakura! Are you listening to me?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry Ino, I was just thinking about something. What were you saying?"

Ino sighed. "You know worrying about him won't help. You should go talk to him if you want to know what's bothering him."

"Wh-What are you talking about?"

She sighed again. "Go talk to him, forehead."

Sakura stood up from the bench she was sitting on. "Okay, I'll go! Thank you, Ino."

Ino giggled, watching Sakura run down the hallway. It was after school, and they had planned to go shopping, but Sakura hadn't even been paying attention. "You're a really bad liar, Sakura."

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**scene V.**

Running down the already half-empty hallway, Sakura looked around for Sasuke. He was probably at his locker right now. Once she reached it, she took a deep breath. He was putting a notebook in his locker.

His face looked kind of pale…or was it just her imagination?

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Hm?"

Sakura stared down at her feet. "Um, I was wondering if you were okay…You didn't look so good when I had dinner at your house the other night, so…I mean, if it isn't anything, you don't have to tell me, it's just that I'm worried about you, and…" Great, now she was babbling on like an idiot. She certainly felt like one.

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm fine."

"Oh, um, okay." She still wasn't looking at him, so she didn't see the look on his face when she turned around to leave.

"Hey, we're going on that trip in two days, right?"

Sakura turned around. "Yeah. We'll have a whole two weeks for it. Are you all packed, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke nodded, leaning against his locker. "One thing I do _not _want to miss out on is watching Itachi do something stupid."

She tilted her head sideways. "Why would he do that?"

"Believe me, he will. He always does. Remember when we went to the mountains two years ago? He wanted to show off how good he was at snowboarding."

Sakura laughed. "Yeah. We had to get a whole search crew to get him out of that big hole!"

Sasuke smirked.

_Good. She's smiling again._

Something inside him made him feel relived; happy. They were talking normally again, joking around like they always did. But something still felt different; _was_ different. Sakura was marring Itachi, and that wasn't going to change.

Who would ever realize just _how much _Sasuke would do for Sakura? Losing her to his brother was…_unthinkable_. When the time came for them to have children…

No. He couldn't be thinking that. To _hell _with his father's company. To hell with _everything_. If there was something he was sure of, it was that Sakura couldn't marry Itachi. He wasn't going to let her.

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**A/N: I made this chapter a bit longer, see? :)**

_**revised 01-01-10**_**. **


	3. selfish

**My Sister's Fiancé**  
**by foreversnow**

Chapter  
Three

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"_Hey, Sasuke-kun…wake up. You're having another nightmare."  
_"_Stay with me, then. So I don't have one again."  
_"…_okay."_

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**scene VI.**

"Amane-nee-chan, look! Isn't it pretty?"

Sakura's sister smiled up at her. "It is, but Sakura, please come down from there! You'll hurt yourself."

Haruno Amane, 22 years old; auburn eyes, almost red, and long lavender hair. She acted and _looked _more like a woman, her body fully matured. She was the complete opposite of Sakura, acting more girlish than she did. The only things they shared were the amount of boys chasing after them (and the obviousness of this), the love of bonbons, and their love for Sasuke (even if one of them didn't realize her own feelings). Even so, Sakura looked up to her, and Amane was fond of her little sister.

"But, Amane-nee-chan, look! The view is even _better _from way up here!" She was standing on top of a large boulder, while Amane watched from down below. The view from these rocks was one of the most beautiful either of them had ever seen, the sunset perfectly mirrored on the ocean below (hundreds of feet below). She had conquered her fear of heights long ago, on a trip to the mountains with Sasuke. "Don't worry, I won't fa—ah!"

Growling in anger, she began to writhe around. "Sasuke! Gah, why don't you just. Let. _Go_!" He seemed to be picking her up like a bag of potatoes a lot lately. Huffing, she pounded on his back, all the while cursing Sasuke and his way of getting what he wanted.

"USING YOUR STRENGTH ON A POOR DEFENSELESS GIRL LIKE ME IS JUST. _PLAIN_. _**WRONG**_!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her and smirked, although she couldn't see this. "Please, cut the damsel-in-distress act. It's not going to work again."

Sulking, she started muttering stuff like, "It was fun while it lasted…"

The two were too distracted by their little fight that they didn't notice the look Amane sent their way, a look completely different from her usual self. _She's the only girl who he gets along with…why can't he be like that with __**me**__?_

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**scene VII.**

Returning to the guesthouse, everyone fell asleep almost instantly. The airplane-trip there really wore them out. Sakura and Amane shared a room, while Sasuke and Itachi slept in another room down the hall.

Amane was the first to wake up the next morning, because she knew that Sasuke woke up at this exact time. _If I come out now, he'll be on his way to the baths too. It'll be like a normal coincidence. _The bathhouse was on the other side of the large guesthouse. She knew how Sasuke only paid attention to Sakura, and she would do anything to get him to notice her, too. At least he'll walk with her there, at talk to her, maybe. _I mean, __**I'm **__going to be his wife, so why does he act like __**she's **__the one he's going to marry?_

"Amane?"

Turning around quickly, her hopeful look is replaced by a forced smile. "Oh, good morning, Itachi-san."

"Hn." Some habits never changed.

They walked together in silence, Amane wishing she were anywhere else than next to Itachi, while he only sighed. "You know trying to win him over like this isn't going to work. We both know how you really feel."

Amane opened her mouth, then closed it. Looking away, she felt her eyes starting to burn. But she _wouldn't _cry in front of him! "There _is _no 'we', Itachi-san. Not anymore."

"Whose fault do you think that is? You really are selfish, going after the other Uchiha after the first one left you."

* * *

**scene VIII.**

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, I can't see anything. Everyone's really tall."

Tonight was the Fireworks Festival, and seeing as everyone was at least a head taller than her, Sakura proceeded to pout and complain about people 'growing too much for their own good'.

Sasuke was about to hold her up, when Itachi picked her up and placed her on his shoulder, so she could see over everyone else. "I-Itachi-kun!"

He chuckled. "Better?"

A blushing Sakura smiled. Now it was like she had a front-row seat! "Thank you, Itachi-kun!"

Amane kept sneaking glances in Sasuke's direction, while the seventeen-year-old boy glared daggers at the ground. He couldn't let Itachi know how much this bothered him. _He already knows this, anyway. Does he want her to fall for him; turn her into one of his fan girls? He should know, Sakura's not like other girls._

_And that's why you fell in love with her… _Stupid voice; telling him over and over what he didn't want to hear. He'd already thought about it _thousands _of times, and it _still _sounded wrong; falling in love with his older brother's fiancée.

And she didn't know how he felt.

Because she was his _best friend_.

He knew what _that _meant.

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**.**

**.**

Life sucked.

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**scene IX.**

For the rest of that night, Sakura seemed to be paying more attention to _Itachi _instead of Sasuke, a reason why he was so moody throughout the festival. And to make his night even worse, Amane kept trying to make him _look _at her instead of Sakura, when he'd made it pretty clear he wasn't interested.

By the time they got back to the guesthouse, Amane had lost all hope for the night, and Sakura wanted nothing more than to go to bed. With a "Goodnight, Sasuke-kun, Itachi-kun! See you guys tomorrow!" she ran after Amane and left the two Uchiha's by themselves.

Sasuke gritted his teeth together in an attempt to calm himself down; now that he was alone with Itachi, he _knew _it wouldn't be long before his older brother started mentally torturing him.

"Sakura was pretty happy tonight, don't you think?"

_I knew it. _

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**.**

**.**

Sasuke couldn't sleep that night. In fact, he didn't sleep much throughout the whole trip.

But…nobody seemed to notice.

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**scene X.**

"Naruto? What do you want?"

"You called earlier, teme; I'm just checking if you're alright. You didn't seem _too _happy when you guys came back from your trip."

"…"

"Look, I know I probably shouldn't be saying this as a friend, and I shouldn't be saying it over the phone, but _dude_, she's marrying _Itachi_. Wouldn't it be easier if you just let her go?"

"…I can't do that, Naruto."

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**A/N: **Big thanks to the reviewers! Your reviews always make me happy. :)

_**revised 06-20-10**_**. I always seem to make Sasuke the target…oopsies.**


	4. together

**My Sister's Fiancé  
****by foreversnow**

Chapter  
Four

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**

_"I don't understand why we have to force the children into  
__arranged marriages. It's not going to make them happy—"  
__"We were married in the same way; just deal with it, Mikoto. There's  
__nothing that will change my mind. Not if it's for the good of the company."_

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**scene XI.**

Two days after arriving from their trip, school had started, and for the first time in her life, Sakura wanted to go. School was a distraction, something that made her forget about the upcoming event; her own wedding. As far as she could tell, she didn't _want _to marry Itachi. It just didn't make sense; she'd always seen him as an older brother. How could this be happening?

In only a few months, she was going to be part of the Uchiha family. She would have to spend the rest of her _life _with him; someone whom she loved in a completely non-romantic way. Still, _he _didn't seem to mind; if she remembered correctly, he had actually _agreed _to it, while all she could do was force herself to smile when she'd heard the news. If he'd wanted to, he could have stopped this engagement from ever happening. But he hadn't. Instead, he was trying to make her fall in love with him, something she knew would never happen.

Sakura knew her father wanted someone to take over the family business when he was too old to do so. If Amane couldn't produce a male heir, did that mean that it would be up to her? She wouldn't be able to do it; she was only _seventeen_, damn it!

Something nagged at her insides; something she couldn't quite understand. Why did it hurt so much to know that she was marrying the older son? And…why did she feel this way whenever she thought of Sasuke and Amane having _children_?

Thinking just made her feel sick; made her want to vomit.

Maybe it would be better not to think at all. That way, when the time came, she wouldn't break down and cry for hours, because that was exactly what she wanted to do.

* * *

**scene XII.**

This was harder than she originally thought. How was she supposed to ask him if it would most likely make him mad? But she couldn't let her daughters suffer; she'd noticed for a while how Sasuke affected their lives so much. _Especially _Sakura's.

So now here she was, standing in front of her husband, while he was completely ignoring her. Even his _paperwork _was more important in his life than she was. "Tadashi? We need to talk…about Sakura and Amane. I can't just let them keep on suffering."

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**scene XIII.**

Sighing dramatically, Yamanaka Ino couldn't stop herself from pouting at her best friend and former rival, who was currently walking next to her down the school hallways. "I still can't believe classes had to start this early. I mean, I _still _had so many things I wanted to do!"

Her pink-haired friend just laughed. "Jeez, Ino, it's not like we have vacation _all _the time. We got those two weeks off because the teachers got that trip to the Andes, remember? Besides, I kind of missed coming to school." _I missed seeing __**you **__guys…_

"Sakura-chan! You're the only one who actually ever _says _that," Naruto, who was walking in between Sakura and Ino, his arms slung lazily over their shoulders, suddenly grinned widely. "Hey, I know! Why don't we go to the mall today? I'll even invite Sasuke-teme!"

"Sure, why not? Let's meet up after school in the parking lot!"

**

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**scene XIV.**

"…I'll make sure everything on this list is carried out, so there's no need for you to worry, Itachi."

Bowing his head slightly, he bid the man goodbye, exiting the study and walking into the main entryway of the Haruno Mansion. He sighed. He'd never really liked Sakura's father; talking with him just made him irritated. _Especially _when they had just been talking about the wedding.

Turning around, Itachi looked up at the person walking down the steps: Amane. Smirking to hide the pained expression on his face from showing when he sees that she's dressed up (in the color he'd always secretly thought suited her the most), he said, "Ah. Good evening, Amane. Is Sakura home yet?"

Amane looked down at Itachi, having stopped halfway down the stairs when she'd seen him in front of the door. Her eyes stared into his for a few seconds (_it felt like an eternity_) before drifting over to the side. Why couldn't she look at him in the eyes like _he _did, every time they saw each other? She always found herself looking away… "No, Itachi-san, she hasn't come home from school yet."

"Oh…"

It grew suddenly quiet, with Itachi staring steadily at Amane's face, while she looked at anything but his eyes. He knew how much she hated it, so why didn't he just stop?

Itachi opened his mouth to say something, when all of a sudden Amane breathed out, "Why?"

Even though she didn't specify what she wanted to know, he knew exactly what she meant. It wasn't about him, or her; it was about _them_. About every stupid thing he'd done and later regretted. Everything he'd just smirked at to look strong, ignoring even his own damn feelings, just to make himself 'happier'.

For a second, his real expression showed through, gone so fast she thought she had imagined it, before he said, "It was the only way to protect you, Amane."

"From _who_? Who would you have to protect me from? You always speak like that; how am I supposed to understand you if you never tell me what's wrong, Itachi?"

He stayed silent, infuriating Amane to the point where her knuckles started to turn white from gripping the stairs' railing too hard. "Itachi! Just tell me. _Please_, who would you have to protect me from?"

He turned to look at the door, resting his hand on the doorknob. "From me." He didn't even need to turn around to see the stunned expression on her face. That was something he was good at; he always knew what she was thinking. Even when he closed up to her, she still poured out her secrets, trusting him more than she should have.

Which meant, if he was correct, that she was going to be even _more _angry at him, probably for the rest of her life.

_Good…_

That was exactly what he wanted.

**

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**.**

**.**

_"You know what they're saying, right? That I'm just with you because it makes my family look good." Auburn eyes were full of sadness._

_He shrugged, ignoring the look in her eyes. "So what?"_

_"Well, I just thought you'd want to know. That it's not true."_

_He sighed. He looked around, checking if anyone was nearby, before pulling her down to kiss her. Pulling away enough to look her in the eyes, he said, "Let them believe what they want to. As long as I can do this, it doesn't matter. Just make sure your father never finds out; you're already engaged, remember?"_

_She nodded slowly. "I know..." The tears that followed were wiped away by the one person she trusted. The only one she needed by her side. "Thank you, Itachi..."_

* * *

**scene XV.**

Focusing her eyes on her knee-length socks, Sakura squeezed her knees closer to her chest, the only way she found comfort these days. Her mouth felt dry; her eyes watery. Why did they always have to _do _that? And her mother didn't even seem to mind…

Someone knocked on her bedroom door, before saying in an irritated voice, "Sakura, open the damn door. How many time do I have to tell you? It wasn't your _fault_." She didn't answer. "Damn it all…I'm coming in." Sasuke had been trying to get her to come out for who knows _how long_, trying everything he could think of even though he knew she would blame herself for what happened. He wasn't very patient to begin with, so the first thing he did when they arrived was to get a spare key to her room from one of the maids.

Sitting down next to her on the bed, he reached out and brought her against him, so she was resting against his chest.

That's when the tears began to fall.

**

* * *

**

**.**

**.**

Sasuke was an enigma. Someone you just couldn't understand, no matter how much time you spent with him. He never stuck to anything he did; one day he'd be playing basketball like a pro, and the next day, he'd find it boring. Sometimes they would be hanging out in her room, playing video games or watching TV, and he would say something that left her speechless. It made her feel special; she was the only one he trusted with his secrets. Not even Naruto knew as much as she did about Sasuke.

He confused her a lot, too. His actions were strange. If a guy came up to her to talk, he'd run the guy off with the trademark 'Uchiha Glare', then _he'd _leave the room, leaving her to wonder what was going on in his mind at that moment. If she went out to look for him, she always found him leaning against a wall somewhere close by (that habit never went away). She would ask him if he was okay, and he would always (and really, he would _**always**_) tap her forehead lightly and call her an airhead, and she'd forget about being worried in the first place.

Did he know how _weird _he was? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, Sakura didn't really care. In fact, everything he did always seemed to make her happy.

Like he was _trying _to make her laugh.

…this situation reminded her of something, back when they had met in first grade; he'd held her like this while she cried, too. And right after she'd stopped crying, he'd told her to laugh because he liked how it sounded. She hadn't understood what he'd meant, but it was okay.

Because it was _Sasuke_.

What other explanation did she need?

**

* * *

**

**scene XVI.**

After the tears had stopped falling, he moved a little, giving her enough space to look up at him if she wanted to. "You okay?"

She shook her head, saying, "No…why doesn't she ever defend herself? She just lets him boss her around like she's his _slave _or something. They're always putting on an image of a happy marriage, while at home they always fight. And Mom never wins; Father _does _because she always gives up without much of a fight, even when the argument is about me and Amane."

He squeezed her a little, thinking back on the fight; Sakura's mom and dad seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Sasuke lifted her chin up softly with the back of his hand so he could look her in the eyes. "It wasn't your fault, Sakura. So stop feeling bad about it. You know your father's been under a lot of stress lately with the company…just because you tried to intervene doesn't mean it was your _fault_. Your mom thanked you for trying. She wouldn't want you to feel bad about it, would she?"

She shook her head once, her mind half registering the position she was in. Really, since when had Sasuke turned into such a…such a _guy_?

She jumped up, turning around to look at Sasuke sitting on her bed while she stood in the middle of the room. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, your birthday's right after graduation, huh? Do you want a big party like last year? We can reserve any place you want!"

"I'd rather not do anything at all." He deliberately ignored the fact that she'd changed the subject so suddenly. She still felt like it was her fault…(did he do something wrong? She'd jumped out of his grasp so quickly).

She pouted angrily at him. Leaning her upper body forward, she said, "But I wanted to celebrate your birthday with you…oh!" She clapped her hands together, smiling. "We should celebrate it together! Just the two of us. How about it, Sasuke-kun? Do you want to do that instead?"

His expression changed into one that nobody ever saw, his eyes full of something Sakura found she liked, because he was smiling that half smile at her, and she knew he was happy. In a soft voice, he said, "Yeah," and in a softer voice that made her blush (why was she _blushing_? This was Sasuke!), "Together."

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **Longest chapter so far, YAY.

_**revised 06-20-10.**_


	5. stress

**My Sister's Fiancé  
****by foreversnow**

Chapter  
Five

**

* * *

**

_"Why are you so...scared, Ino?  
__You should just talk to him; tell him you're sorry."  
__"...what I did can't be fixed by just saying sorry, Sakura. It's  
__not that easy to forgive someone like me."_

* * *

**scene XVII.**

_All this talking about the wedding is screwing with my mind. I can't seem to get it out of my head. Mom and Itachi aren't making it any easier; all they talk about is the wedding. Who's going to be there; who isn't; what color Sakura's wedding dress should be; what country they'd pick for the honeymoon— nobody really expected me to get up from the dining table and punch him in the face. What else could I do? I'm a guy; hitting things relieves stress. And I already had enough of that._

_The asshole didn't seem to expect it either. By the time he'd gotten up off the floor, I was already out the door, ignoring my father's yelling. Maybe I'd hit him hard enough to leave a bruise for the wedding._

…_somehow that didn't make me feel any better. Why would it? He was marrying __**Sakura**__._

_In four months, she'd be all his._

_And there was nothing I could do about it._

**

* * *

**

**scene XVIII.**

Never leave the chocolate in for too long; the heat would only make it more vulnerable to the temperature outside when it was cooled and melt more easily. At least, that's what Amane had heard. She wouldn't know from experience. After all, this was her first time making Valentine's chocolate for that special someone.

Just thinking about it made Amane smile. All she had to do now was put it in the box and…

"…yes. Sasuke-sama and Sakura-sama."

Amane stopped, with the chocolate she'd made in her hands, suddenly aware that two of the family maids were talking behind the kitchen door.

"Sasuke-sama should just tell her how she feels. Sakura-sama is obvious to everything around her, so of course she hasn't figured it out yet."

The other maid said, "Yeah, but everyone else knows. The other maids, Sakura-sama's friends, and even her mother has figured it out. Sakura-sama feels the same way."

"They'd make the greatest couple…if only Fugaku-sama hadn't made the marriage proposal between Sasuke-sama and Amane-sama…"

"Mmhm. He should have just left it like they'd originally planned; for Itachi-sama and Amane-sama to get married. But he changed it when Sakura-sama was born…"

_No… _Why did they _say _that? Why couldn't they just let her enjoy this one day? Her eyes moved back down to look at the chocolate in her hands. The smile on her face was grimaced; her eyes watery. _Like it matters if I'm happy to any of them anyway…_

**

* * *

**

**scene XIX.**

Hiteru waited until she was sure Amane had left the kitchen, before she motioned for the other maid to follow her inside. She sighed. "Do you think we did the right thing? Hurting Amane-sama makes me feel like a bad person."

"We're helping her out. She should stop pretending not to notice anything. This way, she'll be able to find her own happiness. And, hopefully, so will Sakura-sama."

Hiteru nodded. This was the right thing to do…

She couldn't stop the guilt from resurfacing when she noticed the chocolate lying in the trash can.

**

* * *

**

**scene XX.**

The day had already started off bad; now he didn't like it at all.

The second the bell had rung for first break, he'd rushed out of the classroom in search of Sakura. He needed to see her. Plus, he wanted to see if she was okay.

His day was completely ruined when he found her. _She _didn't really do anything wrong. What really pissed him off was that she was sitting near the stone benches with _Gaara_. He hadn't seen her laugh that much since before the announcement of her engagement to Itachi.

Instead of walking towards them, he kept walking until he turned a corner. He frowned. Why was he so pissed off? Gaara and Sakura were friends; _of course _they'd talk and have fun like that. Gaara was one of his best friends.

Sasuke knew he shouldn't feel like this. He knew he shouldn't.

It didn't stop him from wanting to punch something.

**

* * *

**

**.**

**.**

_"Hey, teme, you wanted to talk?"_

_"..."_

_The blond sighed. "You know, she's grown up pretty well; a lot of guys have asked me about her. If you can't stop yourself from wanting to kill them every time a guy talks to her, she's gonna start wondering if you have rabies."_

_He glared. "I'm not __**jealous**__."_

_"Then stop glaring at me. And let go of the poor pencil; I think it's going to break."_

**

* * *

**

**scene XXI.**

"My stomach already hurts from all the chocolate! Why did they have to give me so much? Valentine's day is getting to be too much trouble…"

Ino huffed. "Well if you didn't want so much chocolate, you should have just told them you didn't want it!"

Naruto slumped in his seat, his head lying on the desk, looking sideways at Ino as she sat down next to him. "That's kinda mean. Besides, if I said I didn't want their chocolate, they'd cry. I don't want to make girls cry. And they all said it was _homemade_."

She blinked. "Wow. I never thought you'd be so _caring _towards others."

"Unlike certain blonde people, I actually have a heart!"

Glaring at him she bit out, "Unlike _some _people, _I_ actually have a life. I don't have to waste my time talking to you!"

Naruto frowned. "Then why are you talking to me in the first place?" He didn't let her answer. "I gotta go. Seems like I need to get a life." He grabbed a handful of his uneaten chocolate and shoved it into her hands. "You can have that. I don't care."

He was already gone by the time Ino felt like she could speak again. She couldn't stop blushing.

She was so flustered, she never realized someone had been staring at her throughout the whole time she had been talking to Naruto. He looked away, staring out the window. He sighed. Clouds didn't seem so relaxing anymore.

**

* * *

**

**scene XXII.**

"Hey…what're you doing over here, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke cracked open one eye to look at Sakura. He'd come outside ten minutes ago, and now he was resting against the school building, hidden from view behind bushes and trees with Sakura leaning over him. "How'd you find me?"

"You didn't answer my question! The bell already rang; are you ditching again?" She sat down next to him. "Hmph. Always acting like the bad boy."

"…I'll pretend I didn't hear that." He sighed. With his eyes still closed, he said, "Today's Valentine's day. So I'm hiding from all the noisy girls who want to give me chocolate…and some…guys…" He shuddered. Now _that _he didn't want to see again.

Sakura laughed. Even when Sasuke gave her the it's-not-funny-why-are-you-laughing look, she couldn't stop. Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself, she said, "Don't you usually stay home on Valentine's? You forgot, didn't you." His silence proved her right. "Dummy." She yawned and laid her head on his shoulder, saying, "It's really hot today, isn't it? Even though it's February. It's making me really sleepy…" Her eyes were already closed.

Minutes passed; Sakura's even breathing as she slept was the only thing Sasuke heard, with the occasional laughter from inside one of the classrooms. Looking up at the sky, Sasuke felt something he hadn't felt in so long: this was the way it was supposed to be.

This felt _right_.

**

* * *

**

**.**

**.**

_"Okay, that did __**so **__not just happen."_

_"What?"_

_"I did not just forget my lines. Oh my gosh, Sasuke-kun! I forgot my lines!"_

_"You forgot your lines? For the play?"_

_"NO! I didn't forget my lines!"_

_He frowned. "You're not making any sense, woman."_

_"Exactly. I can't forget my lines now! The show starts tonight! I have them memorized! I know it! I just forgot!"_

_"...wait, can you say that again?"_

_"Argh, SASUKE-KUN!"_

**

* * *

**

**scene XXIII.**

Opening her laptop, Sakura turned it on absentmindedly. Ever since she'd gotten home from school, her mind had been full of thoughts about the wedding, about how she was going to get married soon. She'd thought about it for some time, and now she had finally realized something. If she had to marry Itachi, she knew she would never do it willingly. But if it was Sasuke… She sighed. "This is so confusing…"

"What is?"

She jumped, surprised. Turning around, she sighed in relief. "You scared me, Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke was sitting on her windowsill, his head resting against the side, his eyes focused on the sky. "How'd you get in? My room is on the third floor!"

Sasuke shrugged. "It was no big deal." With that, he jumped inside and laid down on her bed, putting his hands behind his head.

Sakura sighed. _This is always the way he acts when it comes to stuff like this…_

It stays silent for the next few minutes, the only noise coming from the occasional typing Sakura did on her laptop. "Hey…why did you sneak into my room through the window when you could have just come in through the front door?"

He grunted. Ignoring her question, he asked, "Today at school, what were you talking about with Gaara?"

She turned around, an eyebrow raised in question, and said, "Stop avoiding the question, Sasuke-kun. And it's none of your business what I talk to with other people. Remember your manners."

His eyes narrowed into a half glare, annoyance written all over his face, but he chose to answer anyway. "My father already lectured me about trying to get along with Amane whenever I come over to the Haruno Mansion. So, technically speaking, I'm not really here since no one knows other than you."

Sakura got up, walking over to her bed and sitting down next to Sasuke. "Why can't you at least try, Sasuke-kun? Saying hi every now and then isn't so _hard_, is it? You'll be marrying nee-chan soon and—"

"We've already talked about this _hundreds _of times before, Sakura, and my answer is still the same. It always will be."

She sighed, remembering that particular conversation. The same day she had been told she was engaged to Itachi. The same day that- "Hey, that same day you said that you already loved someone. Who is it? Do I know her?"

He opened his eyes, stared at her for a while, then walked over to the window. In a low voice, he said, "...it doesn't matter." _You'd probably laugh and think I was joking if I ever told you._

Before she could say anything about him acting distant again, he was already gone, leaving Sakura to wonder (_again_) what was going through his mind. _Why does he always avoid that question whenever I ask him about it?_

Her forehead furrowed. _Only four months left until we graduate…_

* * *

**A/N: **ACK, I haven't put in many SasuSaku moments! I'll have to start doing that soon...thanks for the reviews, guys.

_**revised 06-20-10**_. Did you guys figure out who the guy watching Ino and Naruto was in scene XXI? It was our lovely Shika-kun! Cause, you know, he loves to look at clouds and stuff.


	6. fear

**My Sister's Fiancé  
****by foreversnow**

Chapter  
Six

**

* * *

**

"_I can't cry. Because if I do, I'm afraid that I  
__won't be able to stop crying." _

**

* * *

**

**scene XXIV.**

"Okay. So I guess we can wait for Amane-nee-chan to come home here in the living room. I'm surprised that you came to see her!" She laughed, still having enough energy to jump up and down excitedly even though they'd just come home from school.

Sasuke grunted next to her. He was staring at the ceiling, lazily spread out on the couch, his feet on the small table in front of him. "…can't believe Father made me come…Tch. Just because I haven't talked to her since we came back from the trip—" He stopped.

The trip.

Two months and he still couldn't get it out of his head. _I should've never talked to Naruto about it. Now I can't stop __**thinking **__about her and Itachi __together__._

"Still, you came to see her. That'll make her really happy." She smiled. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

She shouldn't look so happy. Why was she thanking him?

He hated when she did that—when she thanked him for things she shouldn't. It reminded him of the weddings. Of the person _she _was going marry.

"I should go, Sasuke-kun. Amane-nee-chan might not like it if she finds me here with you when it's her turn to talk to you-ah!" He grabbed her from behind, sitting her on his lap, and her hands landed automatically on his shoulders to support herself. "Sasuke-kun, what—?"

Her attempts went unnoticed. His arms stayed around her waist, keeping her on his lap like a child, both her legs directed at the end of the couch. She stopped moving, instead looking up at his face, which was hidden by long strands of hair.

"Is something wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

He didn't answer.

"You know, if we're caught like this, we'll be in real trouble." Even as she said this, she felt herself leaning forward, putting her arms around his neck to bring them closer together.

"I don't care…I haven't been able to hold you in a long time; do you know how that makes me _feel_…?" She could barely make out what he was saying; his face was hidden in the crook of her neck, muffling his words.

She'd heard enough to make her cheeks flush red (it seemed to be happening a lot lately). Why was he acting so un-Sasuke-like? "Oh, um—"

Sakura practically flew out of Sasuke's arms when she heard someone say from behind her, "Excuse me…"

_Oh no…_

Amane stood in front of the two doors leading into the living room. The look on her face gave it away; she was trying to smile; it only came out like a deformed frown.

_I just know something bad is going to happen…_

Sakura couldn't breathe. With the best cheery voice she could make, she said "Well, um, I guess I'll leave you two alone. Bye!"

…_because Amane really loves Sasuke-kun._

**

* * *

**

**.**

**.**

"_You ruined __**everything **__for me. It's all your fault! Why did you ever have to be born, Sakura?"_

_The eleven-year-old stared up at her older sister—_

_(what was she saying? she sounded really mad)_

—_and said nothing. _

_It was easier to forget things she didn't want to know._

_(it really was)_

**.**

**.**

**

* * *

**

**scene XXV.**

The bookstore across from the university came in handy whenever she needed a book to read. Especially in the science department…

She was so engrossed in the book in her hands that she didn't notice him until he called her name.

"Amane."

She hated the way he said her name.

(_lies_)

Itachi, Itachi-san, Itachi-kun. She could say it forever and it would never sound the way he said her name.

"There's something I need to tell you. You want to go out for some coffee so I can explain?"

Inwardly, she said no.

(_of course she should say no_)

He hated her; now was the perfect opportunity to say—

(_just say it_)

—'no' to **him**.

Of course, she couldn't fool herself.

"…okay."

**

* * *

**

**scene XXVI.**

She really didn't know why she always went along with whatever Sakura asked her. Maybe it was because she was already going through a hard time at home; maybe she just needed something to make her forget her own troubles.

Whatever it was, today it was working against her.

How long had it been since she'd talked to Shikamaru?

(_too long_)

She couldn't even look him in the eye.

_Ever since the accident._

And yet here she was, sitting across from him and Sakura, watching as he completely ignored her while helping Sakura on her math homework.

_He didn't want her in his life anymore._

Really, she was asking to get hurt.

(_maybe_)

She didn't care anymore.

Not when it came to him. And Sakura **knew **this.

Actually, maybe the reason why she'd gotten dragged along to the library after school was because she was trying to get Ino and Shikamaru talking again. She didn't want them to act like complete strangers to each other.

Thinking this wasn't helping. She couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes, just waiting to drop onto her lap at any second.

_Breathe—_

(it hurt so bad)

—_and don't you __**dare **__cry_.

She dropped her head, staring at her lap instead of Shikamaru.

"Hey, guys! Studying _again_?"

She didn't have to look up to know who _that _was. Glancing sideways, she smiled at him. "Hey, Naruto."

Hopefully, he wouldn't notice. He didn't know it was her fault that— he didn't know the accident was because of her. If he knew that she and Shikamaru weren't talking, he'd ask; he was good at knowing how she felt.

(_he always knew_)

Getting up from the table, she walks over to the bookshelves, saying quickly over her shoulder, "I'll be right back, guys, I just need to get a book."

Naruto stood up a second after she did.

Her eyes widened. _He noticed_.

He leaned closer to her, enough to be able to whisper, "I don't really know the whole story, but still, I don't think you should torment yourself like this, Ino. It's too much."

The worry in his voice only made the tears come back. "This has _nothing _to do with you, Naruto. Stay out of it."

Naruto shrugged. Leaning forward to grab a book that was high up on a shelf, he says, "Hey, I'm just worried about Sakura's best friend; which makes **you **someone I care about, so, just…if you ever need to talk to someone, I'll be here, you know?"

She felt like crying again, and she punched his arm playfully. "I hate you. You're messing up my makeup."

He laughed. Nodding in Sakura's direction, he said, "Come on, I'll take you home. I'll even make it up to you by getting ice cream; my treat."

"You want me to get fat, don't you. Hmph, I always knew you were jealous of my body."

Good. She didn't look like she was going to cry again.

Ino waited a few feet from the doorway, while Naruto went to get her backpack. "Hey, Sakura-chan, I'm gonna take Ino home, so don't worry about her, okay? I'll take care of her. Bye!"

**

* * *

**

**scene XXVII.**

Sakura glanced at Shikamaru's face when Naruto told them he'd take Ino home, noticing the slight flicker in his eyes, the rest of his face in that 'like-I-really-care' expression.

He watched Naruto walk up to Ino and tell her he'd carry her bag, placing his hand on her lower back to move her forward. She laughed at something he said.

"You know, Shika, if you keep this up, Naruto's going to take her away from you."

* * *

**scene XXVIII.**

When Sakura walked into her room that same day, she hadn't expected to find a moody-looking Sasuke laying on her bed in the dark. Turning the light on, she sat down next to him, close enough that she could ruffle his hair if she reached her arm out.

"Your wedding day has been decided."

His voice sounded too loud in the silent room.

Her voice came out a lot smaller and shakier than she thought it would be, "When?"

Sasuke looks up at her. The look on her face just made him want to hold her again, but now wasn't the time, so he tightens his hands into fists behind his head, still staring up at the ceiling. "Father thought it would be good if it was on a 'special day', to celebrate two things at the same time."

He takes a deep breath. Sitting up so that he faced the bedroom door, his back facing her, he says the few words he didn't want to say.

"It's on a Saturday…on July 23rd…"

Her eyes widened.

"…my birthday."

**

* * *

**

**Scene XXIX**

He'd left right after that. Didn't say anything else.

His words kept repeating in her mind.

She couldn't stop crying.

Why?

Why did their parents have to ruin their lives like this?

_Why?_

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **Um, yeah. Am I the only one who feels like crying?

_**revised 06-20-10**_. This chapter had so many spelling and grammar errors. I'm surprised how bad I was. Still am. But hey, I'm (hopefully) improving!


	7. closer

**My Sister's Fiancé  
****by foreversnow**

Chapter  
Seven

* * *

"_It's okay to fall in love."  
_"…_even if she's marrying your brother?"_

**

* * *

**

**scene XXX.**

Hiteru dusted the furniture around her distractedly; it was hard to pay attention to her job when she had seen Itachi enter the Haruno household almost an hour ago. _He's been in Tadashi-sama's office the whole time…_ Was this about the wedding? That seemed to be the only reason Itachi came to visit the Harunos.

Just as she was about to give up and move on to another room, the door to the office opened, and Itachi walked out. Normally, she would have bowed and waited until he left the room, then continue on with her cleaning, but today didn't feel like any other day.

His face seemed cold as usual; the same face he used to hide his emotions. _Just like Sasuke-sama. _He hadn't noticed her yet, it seemed. Dragging a hand down his face, his grip tightened on the small box he had in his hand. Hiteru stared. To her, it didn't seem like Itachi was too enthusiastic about his own wedding.

He was almost an arms-length away from her before he even noticed she was there. The startled expression on his face quickly changed to a polite but closed up expression. The two brothers were almost identical in that department. "Good evening."

Bowing quickly, she replied, "Good evening, Itachi-sama."

"Mm. Do you know if Sakura is home from school yet? I have to leave on some business today; I won't be able to wish Sakura a happy birthday tomorrow." He smiled respectfully at her. "I thought it would be a good idea to congratulate her today."

Hiteru smiled back. "Sakura-sama is up in her room, Itachi-sama."

Itachi turned around after thanking her, and as he headed for the stairs, Hiteru hesitantly called out, "Itachi-sama, you wouldn't happen to know why Amane-sama has been a little disheartened for the last couple of days, would you?"

He didn't turn to look at her when he said, "I wouldn't know." His voice sounded almost pained as he continued, "We don't talk much, you see." He started to walk up the stairs again. "Good day, Hiteru-san."

It was a good thing Itachi wasn't looking at her, or he would have seen the tears that started to fall (_because really, they were all in so much pain, and all she could do was __**watch **__as they ruined their own lives_). "Good day to you too, Itachi-sama."

**

* * *

**

**scene XXXI.**

She had originally said she didn't want a birthday party, but Ino wouldn't have any of that. "It's your _eighteenth _birthday, Sakura! Of course we have to celebrate!" Still, Sakura was grateful it didn't turn into one of Ino's wild parties. It was just perfect.

As the last person walked out the door, she couldn't help but smile. Her birthday had been fun; she almost forgot about her upcoming wedding. _Almost_.

"Sakura! Get your pretty little birthday butt in here! You know I don't like to wait!"

Laughing, she turned away from the door. "Coming!" Turning the corner, she walked down the hallway and into the dining room, where Ino, Sasuke, and Naruto were sitting at the end of the table.

Ino leaned forward onto the table, where a large white box sat. Opening it, she took out the cake inside and placed it on the table, where she lit the two candles on top of the cake. "Come and sit down, birthday girl."

She sat at the head of the table, with Sasuke on her left, and Naruto and Ino on her right. "You know, if I sneeze on the cake, you guys can't have any…"

"Sakura-_chan_, blow out the candles already! I'm hungry— Ouch, _Ino_!" Rubbing his arm, he yelled out, "Hmph, you didn't have to _punch _me!"

Sakura watched as they started to quarrel, the smile on her face growing wider as they went on; turning to Sasuke, her face flushed when she realized he'd been looking at her.

His eyes stayed locked with hers as he murmured, "Make a wish."

She nodded.

When she finally did get to blow out the candles, she made a wish.

Out of all her other birthday wishes, this one felt different. It was a selfish wish, she knew, but that didn't stop her.

_If Sasuke-kun knew my wish, what would he say?_

Judging from the look on his face, he probably already knew.

**

* * *

**

**scene XXXII.**

As the days passed by, Sakura couldn't stop the horrible feeling in her stomach from growing. Every day, she grew closer and closer to her wedding; closer to becoming Itachi's _wife_. Whenever she saw him, the disgusting feeling would build up until she felt like puking. _Why?_ She liked Itachi; he was like an older brother.

_But who marries their __**older brother**__?_

Her stomach churned. _Calm down._ Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on paying attention to the teacher. _What is he saying?_ Her ears were ringing; was that normal?

She shook her head slightly. The dizzying feeling didn't go away. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, she could faintly hear the sound of the final bell ringing in the background. When she opened her eyes again, Sasuke was standing in front of her desk. She couldn't hear what he was saying. The concerned look on her face only grew when she abruptly stood up and rushed over to the trash can.

Her chest heaved, and she could feel the tears prickling her eyes as she threw up; a second later, she felt a hand pulling her hair out of the way, the other rubbing her back soothingly until she didn't have anything left inside her to throw back up.

_Oh gods…_ Trying to get the taste out of her mouth, she spit into the trash can over and over again, and she probably would have kept going if Sasuke hadn't pulled her out the door and towards the girl's restroom.

He didn't stop to check if a teacher was nearby, walking right through the door and immediately turning on the water faucet. His handkerchief was cool against her chin as he wiped at it. She didn't want to look at herself in the mirror, so instead, she stared at Sasuke's face. He didn't look disgusted. She could feel her heart start to beat faster again. _Of course, this is Sasuke-kun we're talking about. He'd never be disgusted with __**me**__…_

Faintly, she could hear him asking her something, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Shaking her head to try and clear it, she muttered, "What?"

"You don't look so good. Do you think you're coming down with a fever?" He reached out and placed a hand over her forehead. His brow furrowed. "You're burning up, Sakura. You shouldn't have come to school if you weren't feeling well."

"Mm." Her body felt heavy, and without realizing it, she leaned against him, resting her head on his chest. "I'd rather come to school and listen to the teachers ramble on than have to listen to my mom and her ideas on the wedding." Her eyes closed. "Besides, I wanted to see you, Sasuke-kun."

His arms wrapped around her as he said, "Stupid…that's no reason not to worry about your health."

She sighed against him. "But Sasuke-kun, I hate it when I can't see you. I can't just stay home and not hear your voice. It'd drive me insane…"

He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them slowly. He could hear her breathing as she started to doze off. The pained expression on his face mirrored the tone of his voice when he said, "You're sick, Sakura. You don't know what you're saying."

**

* * *

**

**scene XXXIII.**

"Jeez, Sakura! What is _wrong _with you? Didn't your mother ever teach you to look both ways before you cross the street?"

Laughing, Sakura rested her shoulder against Ino's. "Aw, come on, it's not _my _fault the churro guy was on the other side of the street." She giggled. "You know how much I _love _those!" She gasped. "But I love _you _second best, Ino! I mean, I'd say you were number one, but how can you beat those crunchy, deliciously sweet churros?"

Ino's lip twitched. "You're going to be the death of me one day. Look at me, I can already feel the _wrinkles_ on my face!" She hooked her arm with Sakura's, turning her down another street. "And is that any way to speak with your _best girl friend_? I'm deliciously sweet too!"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura smiled wider. "Whatever you say, Ino. As long as I don't actually have to prove it—" She stopped in mid-sentence, her feet glued to the ground.

Ino stopped walking. Grabbing Sakura's hand, she asked, "Sakura? What's wrong?"

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, when another voice stopped her. "Sakura? I was on my way to visit you; I didn't expect to run into you here."

Ino's grip tightened when she felt Sakura's hand start to tremble. Smiling, she said, "Itachi-san! It's been a while since we've spoken."

Itachi's gaze finally seemed to acknowledge Ino's presence. He smiled at her. "It has, hasn't it? A pleasure to see you again, Ino-san."

Her smile wavered. She could feel Sakura's grip tightening on her hand. "We'd _really _like to stay and chat, but we have to get to an appointment." She started walking, half dragging Sakura with her. "It was nice to see you again, Itachi-san."

**

* * *

**

**scene XXXIV.**

"You should have _seen _her, Naruto! She was shaking from just being near him! She's obviously against the wedding one hundred percent, while he looks as happy as a Uchiha can look." A frustrated sound came from deep within her throat. "And she'll be marrying the freaking bastard in less than three months."

Naruto's voice was quiet; the complete opposite of Ino's. "I know it pisses you off to see Sakura suffering, but don't blame it on Itachi. It's not _his _fault; at least, not entirely."

"I know that, Naruto. I do. It's just…Sakura looks even more miserable every day, and I hate myself for not being able to do anything about it."

He nodded. "I feel the same way. Sasuke must feel even worse. You know how he gets when it comes to Sakura." He flipped through the book in front of him. He could see the words, but his mind was on something else. "Anyway, Ino? Can I ask you something?"

She looked up from her notebook full of doodles. Raising an eyebrow at him, she said, "Shoot."

"You've been worrying about Sakura for a while now, but what about you? Have you tried to talk to him yet?"

Ino's forehead furrowed. Looking down at her lap, she whispered, "It doesn't matter anymore."

"You wouldn't look like that if it didn't matter." Looking around, he checked that nobody was sitting nearby. He sighed in relief. The library was almost empty. "What happened, Ino? I don't understand; one day, the two of you are the closest couple I'd ever seen, and the next, he's telling you to shove off and leave him alone. Did he do something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, Naruto. _He _didn't do anything wrong. _I_ did… He trusted me, and I messed up _big _time. I know he's never going to talk to me ever again, and I accept that." Biting her bottom lip, she whispered, "I just didn't think it would hurt this much." She could feel Naruto's distress start to grow. Taking a deep breath, she tried her best to laugh. "But enough about _me_, I haven't heard about _your _life in a while. How are things with your girlfriend?"

"Ah, well, that…" He scratched his head sheepishly. "We broke up a while ago."

She tried to ignore the relieved feeling in her chest. Why was she so…_relieved _to hear him say that? "Oh, well, that's too bad, I guess. You guys looked great together."

"I guess." He laughed. "She's the one that decided to break it off, though."

"What? Why?"

Naruto shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. We have to start on these reports, Ino. We've been here for almost three hours and we still haven't even started!"

She could tell he was trying to hide something, and she hated when he did that. It only proved how many secrets he still kept from her. Using his own words against him, she said, "You wouldn't look like that if it didn't matter." Her eyes narrowed. "So tell."

Defeated, he sighed. "She thought that since I was spending so much time with you, I might be, you know, cheating on her or something. With you."

She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"But she was like that with Sakura, too, although she never accused me of having sex with someone else. That was a first."

Her expression changed into an apologetic one as she said, "Naruto, I'm _so _sorry. Why didn't you tell me anything? I would have understood perfectly and just have hung out with…someone else. Instead, you lost your girlfriend because of me." Her voice lowered to a whisper, "I am so sorry, Naruto."

"Hey, stop apologizing. _That's _why I never told you. I didn't want you feeling like it was all your fault. Things weren't really going well with her anyway."

"But—"

"Besides," He shrugged. Looking away, he muttered, "I told her I'd rather be with you than have to put up with her bitchiness."

Her breath caught when his eyes met with hers. "And I meant every word I said."

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **Decided to end it with something sweet. :) Oh hey, an appearance from Itachi! He hasn't come out much, has he? Hm. This chapter revolves around Naruto and Ino more than Sasuke and Sakura, but don't worry, the next chapter will make up for it. Oh! I've been making a time-line for this story, and it seems like there will be (at the _least_), twelve chapters total. I dunno, we'll see how it turns out. So, any comments? Of course, it would be great if you guys told me what I have to improve on, or what it was that you liked about the chapter (unless you didn't like it). You guys _do _know I _love _long reviews, right? ;)

_**revised 06-20-10. **_Oh my lanta, I am such a review whore. Forgive me?

Document Manager is a _buttface_. It took me forever to get it to be nice to me. Blah.


	8. kiss

**My Sister's Fiancé  
by foreversnow**

Chapter  
Eight

**

* * *

**

"_If tomorrow you would decide to escape,  
I'd go with you."_

* * *

**scene XXXV.**

Itachi wasn't the type of man that showed weakness in front of other people. Especially because he was a Uchiha.

Which was why nobody ever asked how he was feeling. Ever.

Inside, he was conflicted. The endless 'what if's' plagued his mind. It was like being stabbed over and over in the same place; right above his heart. He didn't know how much more he could handle. Would anyone notice if he just broke down and cried like a child?

…would anyone _care_?

**

* * *

**

**scene XXXVI.**

She took in a deep breath. The fresh scent of roses reached her, and she sighed happily. Her eyes were closed; it made her somewhat uncomfortable to be standing with her eyes closed, but it helped to better smell the flowers without seeing them.

"You look better."

Her eyes flew open. "Oh! You scared me." She tried to sound indignant at his sudden appearance, but she laughed soon after. "I was never sick to begin with, you know. Just ate some bad food or something."

He stepped closer to her, his voice carrying with the wind, "You've been going from home to school, and back again. For two weeks." He sighed. "Everyone was worried. They're too scared of your father to come and check on you, but they sure as hell think I can do it easily. You wouldn't _believe _how annoying Ino's pestering is nowadays."

"I'm telling her you said that, Sasuke-kun." She laughed. "Is Itachi-kun's birthday party too much for you, Sasuke-kun? I thought I would be the only one in the garden today."

"…he's busy with the guests. All the congrats on the upcoming wedding."

Her smile wavered. "Oh."

The sound of his voice coming from right behind her sent a shiver down her back. "It's been sunnier these past few days, hasn't it." _It's just Sasuke-kun. _She kept chanting the same thing over and over in her mind, yet her body didn't seem to care. It reacted in ways she didn't understand.

His arms circled around her waist, just like so many times before, yet this time she couldn't stop her heart from beating faster when he brought her back to lean against his chest. She didn't dare open her eyes, especially not when his face was so close to hers. "You had me worried, too." His voice was right next to her ear, closer than she had thought.

She tried to laugh, but it came out short-winded, so instead she cleared her throat. "I told you, Sasuke-kun, I ate something bad. It just gave me a really yucky stomachache."

"Hm."

Did he not feel the strange electricity between them? Or was it just her? She took in a deep breath, his scent filling her mind. _Shoot, not what I needed. _Opening her eyes, she tried to turn to look up at him while putting some space between them, but his arms were tight around her middle. Her chest bumped against his. "Oh! I'm sorry—"

His hold on her tightened. He grabbed her chin gently with one hand, making her look up at him. Her heart quickened. His eyes searched hers, and she could tell there was something he wanted to say. Shakily, she breathed out, "S-Sasuke-kun—?"

His lips crashed against hers, the hand holding her chin moving to bring her closer against him. Her eyes grew wide, surprise stunning her for a second, until he released her lips long enough for her to whisper out, "Sasuke-kun, what—" This time, his lips gently nudged hers, and she slowly closed her eyes. Leaning up, she brushed her lips over his. A low, guttural sound emanated from him, and he captured her lips again.

By the time he released her again, she was breathing quickly, her eyes half-lidded. His warm breath tickled her forehead. "Sakura…"

Realization struck her at the sound of his voice, and her eyes widened. _No… _She pushed hard against him, catching him by surprise. Stumbling backward, she shook her head back and forth slowly, her hand covering her mouth. _What have I done? _She'd kissed Sasuke. Her _best friend._

Her sister's husband-to-be.

"Sakura—" He took a step in her direction.

"No!" Her voice was shaky, the tell-tale sign that she was about to start crying,"Don't come any closer." She sucked in a deep breath when she said, "I…I need to get back to the party; Mom must be wondering where I am by now—" She started walking quickly in the direction of the mansion.

"I'm not sorry, Sakura." His voice made her stumble, but she kept going. She couldn't turn to look at him.

He stood in the same position minutes after she left, silently cursing himself. He had never meant to scare her. He'd apologize when he found her later in the evening, he decided. He'd make it seem like it was just a mistake. _She doesn't need to worry about how I feel. Not now._

Just as he was about to start walking back to the party, someone came around the bend in the large bushes.

Her long, violet hair swayed in the wind as she got closer. She stopped a few feet in front of him, her eyes filled with the same sadness she seemed to carry every day.

His lips parted, not knowing what to say, "Amane…"

* * *

**scene XXXVII.**

Knocking lightly on the door, she hesitated. _Maybe this is too much…_

"Come in."

She took in a deep breath. _No. I have to do this. _Before she could change her mind, she walked inside, placing her dark hair behind her ear. "Father…I need to talk to you." She couldn't stop the tears from falling.

**

* * *

**

**scene XXXVIII.**

Kissing Sasuke had been a mistake; so why had she…_enjoyed _it so much? Her heart had been beating faster than it ever had before. She couldn't think of another time that had left a tingling feeling in her stomach

Sakura took in a deep breath. Just _remembering _made her cheeks burn. She didn't know what to feel. He was her _best friend_. _He probably wasn't thinking straight. _Remembering his words, she sighed. _I don't know if I should tell Amane-nee-san…she'll never forgive me. _Her forehead crinkled. _But I have to, or—_

There was a knock at her door. "Sakura? You in there?"

She almost jumped. "Oh, nee-san, come in."

Amane came in, closing the door behind her.

She was prepared to tell her what had happened, but when Amane turned, her voice died. "Nee-chan! What happened?" Her arms were wrapped around her sister in an instant. Amane sobbed, and her small body shook against Sakura. She couldn't speak clearly.

After a few minutes, her body stopped trembling, and she shook her head when Sakura offered to get her a glass of water. "I'm so sorry…" She sobbed again. "Nee-chan? What're you talking about?" Amane shook her head again. "Sorry…I'm so…sorry, Sakura. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry…"

Sakura was worried; her sister never acted like this. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably. She couldn't shake off the strange feeling that something bad was about to happen…

Something was _definitely _wrong.

* * *

**A/N:** Really short chapter, I know, but the next one will be longer! I'm just glad that I finally updated. Comments? :)


	9. controlled

**My Sister's Fiancé  
****by foreversnow**

Chapter  
Nine

* * *

"_Can you hear…how fast my heart beats…for you?"_

* * *

**scene XXXIX.**

Amane was suffering. She could see that. But no matter how many times she asked her older sister what had her so sad, she wouldn't tell her.

It gave Sakura a bad feeling.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in and out slowly. _Calm down, Sakura. It won't do any good to get freaked out over this… She'll tell me what's wrong when she's ready._

Her cell phone vibrated. Walking over to it, she flipped it open to find a message from Sasuke. Reading it out loud, she smiled, "'You okay? About us, I mean.'"

Right after the incident with Amane, Sasuke had called to ask if it was alright for him to come over. He'd explained the reason why he'd acted the way he had at Itachi's birthday party. He'd said that all the stress over the upcoming weddings and the pressure his father was putting on him to do good in school had made him act stupidly. All she could do was listen silently as Sasuke explained everything that had happened.

**To: Sasuke  
****From: Sakura  
**of course I'm okay! :)  
you should have told me what was wrong, Sasuke-kun!  
we're best friends, after all

**To: Sakura  
From: Sasuke  
**hn. start walking to school,  
unless you want to be late again.  
meet me by the big tree?

She giggled. It was a relief to be back to normal with Sasuke; she honestly didn't know what she would do if he wasn't by her side. Whatever she had felt back then, it didn't matter now. His explanation had been a relief; after all, wasn't she also stressed out about her wedding? Maybe that was why she'd thought for a second that she might actually _like _Sasuke. But now everything made sense. She was dealing with the wedding and it stressed her out, to the point where she started believing weird things. If she didn't try to calm down a little, she'd only make her friends worry. Especially Sasuke.

Before she could reply to his message, she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in!"

She was surprised to see her father standing in her doorway, his face serious. He spoke with a voice that commanded to be heard, "Sakura."

His presence had always intimidated her. "F-Father? I didn't expect to see you this morning—"

"We need to talk."

Her lips parted again, confusion taking over her face. "Oh, um, can we talk later? I need to get going or I'll be late for school—"

He shook his head. "You don't need to worry about that anymore; I'm withdrawing you from school."

Sakura couldn't believe what he was saying. Her head felt dizzy, and without realizing it, she reached out to the table for support. "…what?"

Tadashi looked his daughter directly in the eyes. Using the same cold tone he used with his clients, he said, "Starting today, you will begin practicing your life as the soon-to-be wife of Itachi. You can't be wasting your time with those so-called friends of yours. It's not necessary for you to finish high school, either; you are going to be a **wife**. Women don't need an education if they are going to stay home and be mothers. And, under no circumstances, will you ever speak to Uchiha Sasuke _ever _again!"

* * *

**scene XL.**

"Sasuke."

Turning to look at whoever had called his name, he said calmly, "…Father. What is it?"

"I need to have a word with you."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question, but turned completely around to listen. "What is this all about—?"

Cutting him short, Fugaku said, "Sasuke, as your father, I am forbidding you from ever seeing Haruno Sakura _ever _again. You will leave the girl alone if you know what's good for you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke couldn't believe what was going on. What the hell was his father _saying_? Never see Sakura again? Where was this all coming from?

Fugaku's voice grew more serious. "If you keep seeing her, it'll only bring her trouble. Haruno-san has already made it clear that he does not want you _anywhere _near his younger daughter."

He glared angrily at Fugaku, ignoring the futile attempts his mother was making to calm him down. "Bullshit. I'm not going to stop seeing her just because you tell me to!"

His father's glare rivaled his own. The room felt colder, as both Uchihas stood staring coldly at each other. "It's not up to you, Sasuke. It's already been decided. It would be in your best interest to do as I say; unless you want your wedding with Amane to be made earlier than Itachi's—"

Mikoto screamed as Sasuke's fist made contact with Fugaku's face, sending him flying to the floor. She rushed to help him sit up. Tears streamed down her face, making her voice come out a whisper, "Are you alright…?" She turned to Sasuke. "How could you do this to your own _father_, Sasuke!"

Sasuke squeezed his fists tightly, trying to keep his anger in check. It was the only thing he could do to stop himself from punching his father again. His jaw tightened. He had to get out of this place; otherwise he didn't know what would happen.

He stared down at the man that called himself his father and said, in the coldest voice he'd ever used, "You're only doing this for yourself; for the company. You really _are _a selfish _bastard_. Did you ever stop to think about your own children? Or did you think that just because we're your sons, we'd do whatever you told us to? Sometimes I wonder why I was ever proud to call you my father."

He turned around before his parents could reply, slamming the door as he left the place he'd called home for many years. To hell with his parents; to hell with their rules. He was going to see Sakura no matter _what _anyone told him.

* * *

**scene XLI.**

Sakura's heart seemed to stop at her father's words. "…wait…" she breathed out.

Her father was already walking out of her room, intent on going on with his day. She seemed to snap out of the many thoughts that were going through her head. Running up to her father, she grabbed his arm and said, "But—you can't do that! Dad, _please_, you can't just—"

Tadashi turned around and slapped Sakura across the face, sending her sprawling on the floor. The resonating sound of his hand making contact with her cheek seemed to stay within the hallway, sounding much louder because of the silence. "Now you listen to me, Sakura. I know about you and Sasuke, and I will _not _tolerate any infidelity in this household! If even _Amane _knew about you two, then I must do everything I can to keep you away from her fiancé! Even if it means taking away your freedom. And for the love of god, restrain yourself from embarrassing the family name!" With that, he walked out of the room, his hand still tingling from slapping his own daughter.

Her cheek stung. _That…_— She could feel tears rolling down her cheeks, a quiet sob escaping her body. _Infidelity? With Sasuke? What—What was he _talking _about? I don't understand this…I don't understand any of this at all! _

Rushing to her side, her mother said hurriedly, "You know your father has been stressed about work, what with having less profit over the past couple of months and the workers not cooperating! Sakura, sweetie, your father didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sure he wasn't thinking straight!" She reached out to cradle Sakura's swollen cheek. "Are you alright? Does it hurt—?"

Slapping away her mother's hand, Sakura bolted for her room, yelling, "Stop _defending _him already!" _Stand up for yourself for once!_

Amane stood in front of her doorway, the guilty look on her face giving away everything. _So this is what she had been crying about the other night. _Sakura was in no mood to talk. The tears had stopped as soon as she'd seen Amane, realization dawning on her. She was tired of being the good daughter. She was tired of being _stepped on _by everyone. Her voice sounded cold even to her ears as she said, "Move." When Amane didn't, Sakura pushed past her.

"Sakura, wait!"

Stopping in the doorway, she said, "You'd go to so much trouble to keep me away from Sasuke-kun…I thought I could trust you, but I guess you're no better than father, Amane."

* * *

**scene XLII.**

Locked inside her room, Sakura threw herself on her bed, burying her face in a pillow. The tears on her face had dried. She wasn't so weak that she'd start crying over something her father had said, especially not now. Her whisper sounded loud in the empty room, "He can't _do _this…"

* * *

**A/N: **Uwah~ It took me so long to update this! Sorry for the wait, guys. But I'm back. :D It might be a little bad, since I kind of rushed this…but I hope you guys like it!

Thank you guys for all the reviews! You have no idea how much they mean to me. c: Especially Nikki-4, for being the 200th reviewer! I can't believe _My Sister's Fiancé _has gotten so many reviews. :o

Oh yeah, the quote at the top? I took it from one of my deviantArt drawings. Ehe.

Comments? :)


	10. rescue

**My Sister's Fiancé  
****by foreversnow**

Chapter  
Ten

* * *

"_I can't give you your fairytale ending, but I'll always be by your side."  
"…that's okay."_

* * *

**scene XLIII.**

She hated feeling so useless.

Whenever she felt down, Sakura always helped her out, no matter what it was.

After the incident with Shikamaru, she wondered if even Sakura wouldn't be able to help her get out of her sad state. After thinking about it herself, she'd realized how much she'd been relying on Sakura, even when her anxiety over her wedding had been increasing. Sakura never asked for help; it was in her nature to keep everything to herself if it meant keeping her friends happy. She had been suffering by herself, while Ino relied heavily on her help like she had the biggest problem in the world. How could she have been so stupid?

Her _best friend _was in trouble, and she couldn't even do anything about it.

Wiping angrily at her eyes, she walked down the hallway quickly, glad to see that it was empty of people. At least that way nobody would see her crying—

"Ino?"

Her heart skipped a beat. Standing in front of her was the last person she had wanted to see. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. "Ah, um…" She turned to look out the window, afraid to face Shikamaru when she felt like her world would fall apart at any second. "E-Excuse me—" She rushed past him, intent on finding an empty classroom to cry in.

She gasped when she felt a hand wrap around her wrist. Turning to look at Shikamaru, she was barely able to see the helpless look on his face before he crushed her against his chest.

* * *

**scene XLIV.**

"Teme!" The blond ran full speed in the direction of his solemn friend, ignoring the stunned looks people threw his way. _I'm on a mission here, man!_ Slamming his hand on the lockers next to Sasuke, he lowered his voice as he said, "I heard about what happened from Sakura-chan's mom! She told me Tadashi-san locked Sakura-chan up in her room! HE WON'T LET HER LEAVE THE HOUSE!"

Sasuke didn't look him in the eye, his hair falling over his eyes as he leaned forward, his hands fisted against the lockers in front of them. "I know." His forehead creased. "I passed by there in the morning; her father put more bodyguards around the house. There's _no way _we're getting anywhere near her house without them noticing."

Naruto grinned. "Ne, Sasuke, have you forgotten that I'm the king of mischief? The principal doesn't keep an eye on me for _nothing_." He clasped his hands together. "Now then, all we need to do to rescue Sakura-chan is a distraction, something that'll get the bodyguards away from the house long enough for you to sneak in and get her out!"

He stayed silent for a while, thinking. "After school, then. But we're going to need a distraction big enough to do that. Who's going to do it?"

"I will." The blonde stood behind Naruto, a determined look on her face. The tears had disappeared from her eyes, instead replaced by the intense will to rescue Sakura. "I'll be the distraction. It's time I put my cheerleading skills to good use, ne?"

* * *

**scene XLV.**

Her room was a prison.

If this had been any other situation, she would have laughed. So many good memories had been made in this room, yet now she wanted nothing more than to get out. Life could play some very cruel jokes sometimes.

She sighed, letting her body sink lower into her fuzzy pillows. What was she going to do now? She couldn't contact any of her friends; her father had made sure to take away all of her ways of communication. She couldn't even look out the _window _without having nameless bodyguards telling her to step away from it. Did her father expect her to _accept _all of this? She knew she would never be able to marry Itachi, not if she had to be forced like this!

And where was Itachi when all of this was happening? He never came around whenever things got bad; would it be the same if she got married with him? She bit her lip. No, she couldn't get married. _She didn't love him that way._

Her parents wanted them to do this for the company, even if it meant that they would never be happy. When was this ever going to stop? She hated to think that her own children would have to follow in her footsteps; would they grow to hate her, too?

Then there was Amane. _She _had been the cause of all this. If she hadn't gone to her father to complain about Sasuke and her, none of this would have happened. Sakura had tried so hard to help her get closer to Sasuke, and this is how she repaid her? By making her father _lock her up like a prisoner_?

"No…" She shouldn't be blaming anyone about this, not when she hadn't tried her hardest to get her father to change his mind. Being alone in her room had given her too much time to think, and if she didn't pay attention to what she was thinking, she'd start blaming this on other people.

"I'm so stupid…"

She should have tried harder to change her father's mind. Having all this time to think, she'd come to realize how much she resembled her mother; weak and controlled. One display of superiority from her father and she'd rushed out of the room, feeling sorry for herself. Sakura glared at her door. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _Her eyes watered. If this was a fairytale, her savior would come crashing into her room, intent on saving her.

She laughed inwardly. _Life isn't that nice…_

A loud crash from outside made her jump. Running to the window, she peered out to see what was going on. She could hear her father's bodyguards yelling to one another, running around the house to the front yard. Something had happened to make them all rush to the front of the house; she couldn't see any more bodyguards in the backyard—

A dark shadow appeared in front of her from above, stopping in front of Sakura. Surprised, she breathed out the words, "Sasuke-kun!"

He smirked at her, his face inches away from hers as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Hey."

"Sasuke-kun…what—what're you doing here! I thought—" He placed a finger against her lips, silencing her mid-sentence.

"Shush, Sakura. We don't have much time." He turned to look down below him, the yard still empty of bodyguards.

The door to her room burst open, Tadashi and a group of bodyguards rushing inside. Tadashi glared at Sasuke, pointing a finger angrily at him as he yelled, "Stop this nonsense, Sasuke! You are a _Uchiha_! Act like one, for God's sake! Do you have any idea what you're doing to the family name!"

Sakura turned to look up at Sasuke, her eyes widening when she saw him shaking his head. "I've had enough of following your and my father's orders, Haruno-san. If it means I can't be a Uchiha, so be it. I'm doing this because I'm tired of having you decide my life for me. I'm sure Sakura thinks the same way." He looked down at Sakura, his lips quirking up when he saw her expression. Turning to look at Tadashi again, he said, "…and I'd throw everything away for Sakura, Haruno-san, because I…I love her."

Tadashi's eyes widened. "Wait!" He ran towards them, his hand stretched out towards his daughter. He barely felt the tips of her hair, before they disappeared out the window, leaving a stunned Tadashi behind.

* * *

**scene XLVI.**

Placing a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear, Ino breathed out a sigh of relief. Sasuke had just called her from a payphone to tell her that their mission had been a success. He had been able to get Sakura out of her house and now they were hiding out at a nameless hotel. He'd gotten rid of everything that could give away their location. Promising to keep in touch, he'd hung up the phone.

She had never felt so relieved in her life. The tears that sprung to her eyes were different from the many that she had shed in the past few months. For once in her life, she was crying tears of joy.

A laugh tore through her mouth. "We did it…" She laughed again, this time turning to look up at the shining sky. "We actually did it…"

She turned to look at the boy walking in her direction, a smile lighting up her face. "Shika!" Without even thinking about it, she ran to meet him halfway, throwing her arms around his neck happily. "We did it! We got her out of there! It's all thanks to you, Shika!"

His silence snapped her out of her daze. She gasped. Stepping back quickly, she bowed, afraid to look at his reaction. "I am _so sorry_, Shikamaru! I didn't mean—" Her forehead creased. "I'm sorry…"

She heard him take a step closer to her, and her eyes widened when she felt his hand raising her chin up. He was looking her in the eyes, his other hand fisting against his pants. "Don't _do anything _stupid again, Ino. You…" He looked at a loss for words. He shook his head, looking away from her. His voice was barely above a whisper, "What if something had happened to you…?"

Ino breathed in deeply. She was so surprised she had barely remembered to breathe… "But…you told me I should do whatever I can to help Sakura! I wouldn't have had the courage to do what I did if it hadn't been for you!"

For the second time that day, she was surprised to find herself enveloped in his arms, her body fitting perfectly against his. "I didn't think you would go and put yourself in danger like you did today! Think about yourself for once, Ino!"

She shook her head slowly. "You don't understand. If I hadn't distracted the guards, then Sasuke would have never been able to rescue Sakura! I _wanted _to do it. And I'm glad I did; I was able to help my best friend, Shika."

Shikamaru squeezed her gently, his breath warm against her ear. "If I hadn't been there, who would have caught you when you fell from the tree? Don't….don't make me worry like that anymore, Ino."

Her cheeks turned pink, and she tried to hide it by burrowing against his chest. "I don't understand, Shikamaru. I thought you _hated _me."

He chuckled. "You getting into trouble in order to help Sakura really pissed me off. I was mad at _myself_, Ino, for getting you into such a dangerous situation. I'm sorry."

* * *

**A/N: **Oh, Shika, you dog! Finally coming around to admit he was wrong. :D

It's my goal to finish this story before I graduate one month from now, which means I need to get going! I'll be eighteen tomorrow; gotta be a little more mature, you know?

Comments? :)


	11. sacrifice

**My Sister's Fiancé  
****by foreversnow**

Chapter  
Eleven

* * *

"_Even after I ruined everything with her, she still means the world to me."_

* * *

**scene XLVII.**

The water felt cold against her feet, splashing up bits of salty water on her face. She looked out at the vast ocean, her mind wandering to the events that had taken place only hours ago, feeling almost like a dream. Sasuke had rescued her; the words he spoke when her father ordered him to stop what he was doing had shocked her, to say the least. Never before had she seen her father react the way he had. Sasuke had said that he _loved _her.

_Me._

Placing a hand over her heart, she breathed out slowly. Even her heart didn't know how to react. Looking up, she stared at the darkening sky, even as Sasuke's voice came from the water's edge, "You shouldn't be getting wet at this hour; you'll catch cold."

"Mm. I'll be out in a minute."

They stayed standing for a moment, until Sakura broke the silence with, "When were you planning on telling me, Sasuke-kun?"

When he didn't reply, she turned to face him. He stared down at her, his hair swaying with the wind. His eyes were unreadable, hiding whatever he wanted to keep secret from her. She shook her head slowly. "You weren't going to tell me. Ever." Sasuke didn't meet her gaze, his eyes moving to look out at the ocean, taking in the sudden darkness that came with the setting sun.

Sakura took a few steps toward him, pushing at his chest angrily. He didn't stop her, letting her push him back slowly. He knew she would react this way, and he wasn't about to stop her when his own guilt ate at him. "You should have _told _me, Sasuke! Why would you keep something like this a _secret_? You don't keep these kinds of things a secret! If you had told me, I would have—" She stopped abruptly. Turning around to face the ocean, she yelled out, "Aahh, I'm so _hungry_!"

She could feel Sasuke standing behind her, his arms wrapping around her as he pulled her against his chest. Her body leaned back against him, the comfortable feeling of having him so close taking over her. Looking up, she saw him leaning closer, and she closed her eyes as his lips brushed against hers. She could feel her lips tingle with his touch, leaving her almost breathless.

Pulling away suddenly, she took a few steps away from him and turned to splash him with water. She had barely enough time to turn away before she felt cold water splash against her legs. Laughing, she yelled, "It's war, Sasuke-kun!"

* * *

**scene XLVIII.**

Scrunching up her nose, Sakura stared at the TV with a slice of pizza in her hand. Sasuke's eyes stared at her as she bit into her slice happily, only to scrunch up her nose once again when she finished chewing. "Is something wrong with the pizza?"

"Huh? Oh, no, the pizza's super yummy!" Grabbing a piece of her wet hair, she said, "It's just that the hotel shampoo smells _horrible_. I keep smelling it every time I finish my pizza!"

Sasuke smirked, shaking his head slowly. "Is that all?" Taking the scrunchie Sakura had around her wrist, he leaned over to tie her hair up. When he looked down to see her reaction, he couldn't help but smile. Her cheeks were pink, her pizza forgotten on the plate beside her. Without looking at him, she said, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She went back to chewing on her pizza, her nose no longer scrunching up.

He sat down again, looking over at her as she laughed along with the TV show they were watching. It almost felt like a dream to be able to sit with her so normally, despite everything that had happened. But never in his life had he dreamt of being like this with her. "Sakura."

"Mm?" Smiling, she turned to look at him, blushing deeply when he leaned in slightly to kiss her.

He looked at her reaction, the smile on his lips growing when he saw how dark her cheeks had gotten. Leaning forward slowly, she met him halfway the second time, letting her hands tangle in his hair as his hands made their way onto her hips to pull her closer. When he finally pulled back, he breathed deeply against her lips, murmuring, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

She smiled. Laughing, she said, "Ne, Sasuke-kun, that just makes you sound like a pervert." She laughed again at the look on his face, squealing when he tickled her sides for revenge. "Sasuke-kun, no fair! You know my weakness—eek!" She slid off the couch, landing loudly on the floor.

Sasuke was about to help her up, but she shook her head slowly, pushing his hand away. In a sad voice, she asked, "Why didn't you ever tell me how you felt, Sasuke-kun?" Her face was hidden by long strands of hair, hiding the expression on her face. "Why did you keep it a secret?"

He shook his head, looking at anything but her. "You weren't ready for that kind of thing, Sakura. If I'd told you, you would have worried about me, wouldn't you. It's just the way you are." He turned to face her, looking her in the eyes when he said, "And I didn't want you to worry. We were fine as friends, weren't we? At least, _you _seemed to think so." He shrugged. "If it was okay like that with you, I was fine with it. I could keep being your best friend."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "So you were really never going to tell me?" Her voice cracked at the end, making more tears rush down her cheeks. She felt Sasuke's hand wipe some of the tears away, fresh ones replacing them almost at once. She stood up, placing a hand on his cheek to make him look at her. He closed his eyes against her hand for a second, opening them again when she sobbed, her body shaking with it. He pulled her down onto his lap like he had so many times before, letting her cry against his shoulder. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. "I love you, Sasuke-kun." She sniffled. "I love you _so much_."

He stroked her hair soothingly, murmuring into her ear, "I do, too."

* * *

**scene XLIX.**

His expression was peaceful as he slept.

Sakura smiled. She had always been proud to know that she was the only person he would let his guard down around. Nobody else had ever seen him like this, so vulnerable. She really loved him for it.

Which was why she had to do this. She knew her father would find them soon; there was no question about it. He would hire the best detectives to find where they were hiding out, and when he did, Sasuke would be the one in trouble. Knowing her father, he would press charges on Sasuke for kidnapping and breaking into their home. He was _that _cold-hearted.

Her forehead furrowed. No, she couldn't let that happen. She wasn't about to let Sasuke ruin his life, even if it meant giving up her freedom to do so. Leaning down slowly, she placed a kiss on his forehead. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun…"

* * *

**scene L.**

A knock at his door snapped him out of his thoughts. Who would be knocking at his door this early in the morning? There were only a handful of people that knew about him living half the time in this apartment.

Opening the door, his irritated expression was replaced by surprise. "Sakura?"

"Itachi-kun…I need to talk to you."

* * *

**A/N: **I updated after only one week! That has _got _to be a new record for me. :D

Although the chapter is pretty small…but hey, at least I updated. :P

We're almost there, guys! Can you believe _My Sister's Fiancé _is almost finished? After more than two years since I first posted it on FanFiction…

Comments? c:


	12. nostalgia

**My Sister's Fiancé  
by foreversnow**

Chapter  
Twelve

* * *

"…_You always manage to take my breath away…"_

* * *

**scene LI.**

"What're you doing here, Sakura?" Before Sakura could say anything, Itachi reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, asking, "Where have you been? And where's Sasuke? You've had everyone worried!"

Sakura looked down, shaking her head slowly.

"Sakura…?"

She looked up at him, her eyes unreadable. "Why don't we get married, Itachi? I'm ready to get married."

Itachi stared at her, speechless, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find something to say.

Her eyes watered. "Isn't this what you wanted? You made it pretty clear that you wanted us to get married, so let's just get this over with."

* * *

**scene LII.**

"Sasuke, slow down! I can't understand what you're saying!"

Cursing under his breath, he said, "Sakura's _gone_, Naruto. I can't find her anywhere." Ignoring Naruto's questions, he continued, "I know she wouldn't leave because she was scared; she must have had a reason. And the only thing I can think of is that she plans on continuing with the wedding. She doesn't want me to end up a criminal. I can't let her do this, Naruto. I can't lose her all over again."

Before Naruto could say anything, he hung up. He didn't have any time to waste; he had to find Sakura. "Where are you, Sakura…?"

* * *

**scene LIII.**

He couldn't stop shaking his head. "Sakura, calm down, you're not thinking straight right now." His eyes closed, his fingers rubbing slow circles to smooth the frown on his forehead. "Rest here. We'll talk once you get some rest."

"Itachi! Don't _do _this. Why do you always avoid everything bad that happens in your life?" Itachi ignored her words, standing up from the couch next to hers and walking in the direction of his room. Anger boiled inside her, causing the next words to come out harsher than she intended, "This is why my sister didn't try to make things work, because you're nothing but a coward!"

She saw him freeze halfway across the living room, his shoulders tensing before drooping soon after. He didn't turn to look at her when he breathed out, "Don't bring her into this right now, Sakura."

Her forehead furrowed. "If not now, then when? When are you going to admit that all you care about is my older sister? You're willing to ruin everyone's lives just to see her be 'happy'? Wake up and smell the freaking roses, Itachi; _nobody's_ happy!" She was standing before she knew it, shoving angrily at his chest. There were so many things she wanted to say, so many words she wanted to shout at him, yet all she could do was keep hitting him until he fell back against the couch. Breathless, she felt the tears start to fall.

He leaned his head against the back wall, his eyes hidden behind loose strands of hair as he said, "You knew?"

It was hard for her to look at him in such a vulnerable state; he looked so much like Sasuke it almost hurt. "Y-Yeah, I mean, it took a while to realize it, but after you stopped visiting, my sister was mean…short-tempered; she hated even seeing me sometimes. That was after you broke it off with her by throwing her out of your life, wasn't it? I knew there was something she was hiding, and it took me this long to figure it out." Her eyes watered, and it took all she had not to cry again. Staring intently at the ceiling, she said, "If you're willing to sacrifice this much for my sister, then why cant I do the same for Sasuke-kun? I don't want my parents to ruin his life; not if there's actually something I can do for him."

"You're doing this for Sasuke?"

She nodded, a shaky "Yes." escaping her lips.

He shook his head slowly, a laugh traveling up his throat. "I'm a fool. A big, big fool…I let my father manipulate us so easily, because I was too weak to stand up to him like Sasuke did…I even hurt your sister, convinced I was actually protecting her." He laughed again, and Sakura couldn't help the aching feeling she felt in her chest. She felt her insides tighten, felt her breathing come out in short, shallow breaths. _Calm down…just calm down. _If she let herself be moved by her emotions again, she didn't know _what _she'd do. Placing a hand over her heart, she thought about Sasuke.

_Is this what it feels like when you're away from the person you love?_

Sakura stared at her lap, her shoulders sagging. She was more tired than she would like to admit; leaving Sasuke had drained all of her energy, as well as most of her willpower. How was she supposed to convince Itachi if she could barely convince herself this was the right thing to do? There wasn't anything she could say that felt _right_. "Itachi, did you —do you still love my sister?" She didn't have to look at him to know the answer. "Still, we _have _to get married. They'll blame you, too, if you don't go through with this, and I can't bear to see that happen. I don't want to be the cause of all of this." Her voice grew more pained, coming out as a whisper by the time she was finished talking.

Itachi shook his head again. "We're not getting married." Before she could protest, he said, "I've had enough of this. All of this happened because I didn't stand up to my father. You need to go back, Sakura. It's time I set everything right." Turning to look at her, he smiled sadly. "I'm sure Sasuke's waiting for you."

* * *

**scene LIV.**

Deep blue eyes followed her as she slowly made her way to the seat in front of her. Placing a hand on the table set between them, she raised emerald-green eyes to meet her blonde friend's gaze. Sakura felt Ino place her hand over hers, giving it a slight squeeze in reassurance.

Her blonde friend spoke first, voice soft, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm…okay, actually." She sighed. Staring down at their hands, she continued, "My parents dropped all charges against Sasuke-kun, and they're even willing to back him up if his parents decide not to accept him back into their household. His father's still angry about everything that happened, you know?" She smiled. "He's not the only one standing up to his father, though. Itachi said he'd stand by Sasuke-kun, no matter what."

"And your sister? How is she doing?"

"Itachi told her everything after he talked with his parents. They're actually thinking of getting married, although neither of our parents have accepted that idea yet. I guess it's just too much information to process." At Ino's look, she laughed. "Oh come on, you have to admit a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. Even I'm still having trouble taking all of this in. I mean, I don't have to marry Itachi anymore, and Sasuke-kun decided to go back to his family. It still feels like a dream, how everything changed. And all it took was both sons taking on their parent's demands."

Ino was smiling, her bright eyes twinkling. "I'm just glad everything's slowly working itself out." Her smile grew, her voice taking a teasing tone. "So, what's it like being with the hottest guy in the universe?"

Sakura laughed. "It's amazing. Almost unreal." Laughing again, she said, "I never knew I could be so happy in my life. Sure, he's been super busy having to deal with his parent's ignoring him, and setting everything right with my parents, but whenever he has time he makes sure to call me. Its nice having someone care so much about you." Smiling mischievously, she said, "And how's it going with you and Shikamaru? From what Naruto told me, you guys are inseparable. I'm surprised he wasn't here waiting with you."

Ino's cheeks flushed. "He had cram school, so he couldn't make it." Glaring at Sakura when she laughed, she stuck her tongue out, her cheeks growing an even deeper shade of pink.

"Smooth, Ino." She giggled. "I'm glad everything worked out between you two. I mean, it was starting to look like you were never going to tell him how you felt!"

"Mm." She smiled. Taking a sip of the lemonade set in front of her, she said, "And it's all thanks to Naruto. It's still so strange, to think that because of him I was able to talk to Shika again. He told me he'd been trying for weeks to get Shika to talk to me, but it just never happened. So he decided to talk to me, and well, you know…" Her cheeks flushed.

Sakura's smile grew. "Who knew Shika was the jealous type? I always pictured him as the kind of guy who doesn't get bothered by anything, but he's actually overprotective, isn't he. Ne, Ino-pig, aren't you a lucky girl~"

The blonde waved her arm dismissively, her cheeks still pink. An indignant puff left her lips, followed by, "Shika is just Shika. What really surprised me was the determination Sasuke has put into being with you! I know you guys get to talk a lot, but doesn't it get to you that you guys can't see each other?"

"Of course it does, Ino. Our parents decided we can't see each other until the day we graduate; it's hard, not being able to see him in person." She smiled sadly. "But if it means that we're actually getting closer to convincing our parents into letting us be together, without having to deal with marriage and the company, then I'm fine with it. I can put up with not seeing Sasuke-kun for now if it means I can be with him."

Ino leaned her head against her fisted hand, leaning sideways to look at Sakura. "You're strong, billboard brow. I know you can do it." She smiled. "Anyway, I bet Sasuke's the one suffering more than you are right now. He's like a puppy when it comes to you; too much time away from his Sakura and he gets super restless." Winking, she laughed out, "Trust me, it's fun to ruffle his feathers. Me and Shika visit him sometimes, and I just love seeing how he gets whenever I mention you and a boy's name in the same sentence. It's like he thinks they're going to steal you or something."

"Ino! That is _so_ mean. No wonder he's always asking me how my day has been and who I've talked to. You've been freaking him out!"

"He'll live. Besides, it's not that much longer till graduation; he'll get to see you then! Aren't you looking forward to that?"

Sakura's smile brightened. "Of course I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

**A/N:** Originally I was going to make it all mushy pushy but after thinking about it, I've never been the type to enjoy overly dramatic endings. So I just went with this instead. Of course, there'll be an extra chapter soon to come!

I just want to thank the people who stood by this story for so long! I know I took way too long updating and a lot of you guys probably hate me for it, but thank you anyway for reading!


End file.
